Police make arrest in shooting death of former Fort Benning Ranger

<p>Police arrested a former Army sergeant Thursday in the shooting death of his roommate, who had just returned from three tours of duty in Afghanistan. Both men formerly served at Fort Benning, Ga.</p><p>Gary James Smith, 24, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his roommate, Michael Anthony McQueen II, 22, in their Gaithersburg apartment. Montgomery County Police found McQueen's body, with a gunshot wound, on the night of Sept. 26. Police said they did not recover a weapon at the scene.</p><p>Police would not provide further details of the death or of Smith's arrest. The motive for the shooting is still unknown, police said.</p><p>The two served together in the 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Benning, where McQueen was an intelligence specialist and Smith was a sergeant, said McQueen's father, Mike.</p><p>McQueen was slated to leave active duty Oct. 7 and was looking forward to life outside the Army, said Mike McQueen, who is the chief of the New Orleans bureau of The Associated Press.</p><p>"He was planning to enroll at the University of the District of Columbia for the spring semester," the father said.</p><p>In Afghanistan, McQueen was an intelligence specialist, his father said.</p><p>"His job was to go out and talk to people," said the elder McQueen. "He also prepared intelligence reports for senior officers."</p><p>McQueen was raised in Miami and enlisted in the Army shortly after graduating from high school in 2002, his father said.</p>

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